DEVO had one more album in them before Mark Mothersbaugh decided there was more to be done scoring "Rugrats" cartoons, Disney cable shows and movie soundtrack work. "Smooth Noodle Maps" (the title refers to the patterns on the surface of a human brain) plays to all the strengths of their "Freedom Of Choice" salad days. The guitars are back among the electronics, and the compositions are hooky and dance floor smart. The one-two punch of "Stuck In A Loop Again" and "Post Post Modern Man" reinvigorate the theory of de-evolution in a powerful fashion, with a great deal of zip. They even throw in a DEVO-esque cover of the ancient "Morning Dew" (probably best known as a Grateful Dead favorite) to prove they still have what it takes to twist an oldie. They may have lost most of their sense of societal irony, but with the nasty "Jimmy" and the burned out relationship blues of "Dawghaus," DEVO at least could claim they closed up shop with a solid recording.

This album was the perfect way for them to call it a day. Only a prententious artsy-late-on-the-bandwagon newb would not at least enjoy this album if not downright love it.

I've been a spudfan since before there was an MTV, and even before *shudder* there was any Freedom of Choice.

The only thing Devo can be said to be guilty of is in miscalculating just how fast the music industry would go straight to hell.

Listen to anything by most current "artists" and you'll probably agree with me.

Unlike the crappers/boybands/tramped out gansta chicks etc who've been out there for the last few years, DEVO never took themselves at all seriously.

There's something to be said for that...

DEVO had one more album in them before Mark Mothersbaugh decided there was more to be done scoring "Rugrats" cartoons, Disney cable shows and movie soundtrack work. "Smooth Noodle Maps" (the title refers to the patterns on the surface of a human brain) plays to all the strengths of their "Freedom Of Choice" salad days. The guitars are back among the electronics, and the compositions are hooky and dance floor smart. The one-two punch of "Stuck In A Loop Again" and "Post Post Modern Man" reinvigorate the theory of de-evolution in a powerful fashion, with a great deal of zip. They even throw in a DEVO-esque cover of the ancient "Morning Dew" (probably best known as a Grateful Dead favorite) to prove they still have what it takes to twist an oldie. They may have lost most of their sense of societal irony, but with the nasty "Jimmy" and the burned out relationship blues of "Dawghaus," DEVO at least could claim they closed up shop with a solid recording.

More mellow than Total DEVO.

A reflective period for the band?

Suffered from poor label support and promotion.

You are remiss if your collection does not include this.

This album is a huge step up from Total Devo. I like Total Devo, but it's easily the band's worst album. This one has better songs, better flow, and better production. It actually feels like a Devo album. If you think Devo went downhill after Freedom of Choice, you may not like this CD much, but the rest of you will find something to like here. Devo Has Feelings Too is actually one of my favorite Devo songs, so I recommend this for that song alone, but the rest of it is pretty good too.